c u c 
may be thereby feparated from each other to a greater 
diftance ; then give them a little water (if the weather 
be dry) to fettle the earth about them, which you 
muft afterwards repeat as often as you fhall find it 
neceifary, ftill being careful to keep the ground clear 
from weeds. 
When your Cauliflowers are quite drawn off the 
ground from between the Cucumbers, you muft hoe 
and clean the ground, drawing the earth up round 
each hole in form of a bafon, the better to contain 
the water when it is given them ; you muft alfo lay 
out the plants in exadt order as tfiey are to run and 
extend, fo that they may not interfere with each 
other ; then lay a little earth between the plants left, 
prefling it down gently with your hand, the better to 
fpread them each way, giving them a little water to 
fettle the earth about them, repeating it as often as 
the feafon fhall require, and obferving to keep the 
ground clean from weeds. The plants thus ma- 
naged, will begin to produce fruit toward the latter 
end of July, when you may either gather them young 
for pickling, or fuffter them to grow for large fruit. 
The quantity of holes necefiary for a family, is about 
fifty or fixty •, for if you have fewer, they will not 
produce enough at one gathering to make it worth 
the trouble and expence of pickling, without keeping 
them too long in the houfe, for you cannot expeft 
to gather more than two hundred at each time from 
fifty holes ; but this may be done twice a week during 
the whole feafon, which commonly lafts five weeks ; 
fo that from fifty holes you may reafonably expect to 
gather about two thoufand in the feafon, which, if 
they are -taken fmall, will not be too many for a pri- 
vate family. And if fo many are not wanted, they 
may be left to grow to a proper fize for eating. 
CUCUMIS AGRESTIS. See Momordica. 
CUCURBIT A. Lin. Gen. Plant. 968. Tourn Inft. 
R. H. 107. [fo called from Curvata, Lat. bended, 
becau fethe fruit of this plant generally bends,] the 
Gourd. 
The Characters are, 
It hath male and female flowers in the fame plant. I he 
flowers have a bell-fhaped empalement of one leaf \ whofe 
borders are terminated by five briflles ; the flowers are 
bell-fhaped , adhering to the empalement , and are of one 
petal , which is veined and rough , divided at the top into 
five parts. The male flowers have three ftamina , which 
are connected at their extremity , but are diftinbl at their 
bafe , where they adhere to the empalement ; thefe are ter- 
minated by linear fummits running up and down. The 
female flowers have a large germen , fituated under the 
flower , fupporting a conical trifid flyle , crowned by a large 
trifid ftigma. The germen afterward becomes a large 
flefhy fruit, having three foft membranaceous cells which are 
diftinff; inclofing two rows of feeds which are bordered. 
This genus of plants is ranged in the tenth feftion 
of Linnaeus's twenty-firft clafs, in titled Monoecia 
Syngenefia, the plants having male and female flow- 
ers on the fame plant, and the ftamina of the male 
flowers being connedted. 
The Species are, 
1. Cucurbit a ( Lagenaria ) foliis cordatis denticulatis 
tomentofis bafi fubtus biglandulofis ; pomis lignofis. 
Lin. Sp. 1434. Gourd with heart-floaped, indented , woolly 
leaves , having two glands at their bafe , and a ligneous 
fh ell to the fruit. Cucurbita longa, folio molli, flore 
albo. J. B. 2. 221. Commonly called the Long Gourd. 
2. Cucurbita ( [Pepo ) foliis lobatis, pomis laevibus. Lin. 
Sp. Plant. 1010. Gourd with lobed leaves and a fmooth 
fruit. Cucurbita major rotunda, flore luteo, folio af- 
pero. C. B. P. 2 1 3. Commonly called Pompion, or Pumpkin. 
3. Cucurbita ( Verrucofa ) foliis lobatis, pomis nodofo- 
verrucofis. Lin. Sp. Plant. 1010. Gourd with lobed 
leaves , and a wanted knobby fruit. Cucurbita verrucola. 
J. B. 2. 222. IVarted Gourd. 
4. Cucurbita (Melopepo ) foliis lobatis, caule eredto, 
pomis depreffo-nodofis. Lin. Sp. Plant. 10 10. Gourd 
with lobed leaves , an erect ftalk , and a depreffed knotty 
fruit. Melopepo clypeiformis. C. B. P. 312. Com- 
monly called Squafh. 
cue 
5. Cucurbita ( Lignofis ) foliis lobatis afperis, florC 
luteo, pomis lignofis. Gourd with rough-lobed leaves , 
a yellow flower , aud fruit having a hard fhell ; commonly 
called Calabafh. 
The firft fort is fometimes propagated in the Englifli 
gardens by way of curiofity, but the fruit is very 
rarely eaten here though, if they are gathered when 
they are young, while their fkins are tender, and 
boiled, they have an agreeable flavour. In the 
eaftern countries thefe fruit are very commonly cul- 
tivated and fold in the markets for the table, and are 
a great part of the food of the common people, from 
June to Odtober. Thefe fruit are alfo eaten in both 
the Indies, where the plants are cultivated as cu- 
linary ; and in thole countries, where the heat of 
their fummers is too great for many of our common 
vegetables, thefe may be a very good fubftitute. 
This fort doth not vary like molt of the others, but 
always produces the fame iliaped fruit •, the plants of 
this extend to a great length, if the feafon proves 
warm and favourable, and will then produce ripe 
fruit ; but in cold fummers, the fruit feldom grows 
to half its ufual fize. I have meafured fome of thefe 
fruit when growing, which were fix feet long, and a 
foot and a half round ; the plants were near twenty 
feet in length : the ftalks of this, and alfo the leaves, 
are covered with a fine foft hairy down j the flowers 
are large, white, and ftand upon long foot-ftalks, 
being reflexed at their brim ; the fruit is generally 
incurved and crooked, and when ripe, is of a pale 
yellow colour. The rind of this fruit becomes hard, 
fo that if the feeds and pulp are taken out, and the 
fhell dried, it will contain water ; and in thofe coun- 
tries where they are much cultivated, are ufed for 
many purpofes. 
The fecond fort, which is commonly known by the 
title of Pumpkin, is frequently cultivated by the 
country people in England, who plant them upon 
their dunghills, where the plants run over them, and 
fpread to a great diftance ; when the feafons are fa- 
vourable, they will produce plenty of large fruit: 
thefe they ufually fuffer to grow to maturity, then 
they cut open a hole on one fide, and take the feeds 
out of the pulp as clean as poffible, after which 
they fill the fhell with Apples fliced, which they mix 
with the pulp of the fruit, and fome add a little fu- 
gar and fpice to it -, then bake it in an oven, and eat 
it in the fame manner as baked Apples ; but this is a 
ftrong food, and only fit for thofe who labour hard, 
and can eafily digeft it. 
Thefe may be propagated by fowing their feeds in 
April, on a hot- bed ; and when the plants come up, 
they fhould be tranfplanted on another moderate bed, 
where they fhould be brought up hardily, and have 
a great deal of air to ftrengthen them ; and when 
they have got four or five leaves, they fhould be 
tranfplanted into holes made upon an old dunghill, 
or fome fuch place, allowing them a great deal of 
room to run, for fome of the forts will fpread to a 
great diftance. I have meafured a Angle plant, which 
had run upwards of forty feet from the hole, and 
had produced a great number of fide branches ; fo 
that if the plant had been encouraged, and all the 
fide branches permitted to remain, I dare fay it would 
have fairly overfpread twenty rods of ground ; which, 
to fome people, may feern like a romance, yet I 
can affirm it to be fadt. But what is this to the ac- 
count printed in the Tranfa&ions of the Royal So- 
ciety, which was communicated to them by Paul 
Dudley, Efq; from New England, wherein mention 
is made of a Angle plant of this kind, which, without 
any culture, fpread over a large fpot of ground, 
and from which plant were gathered two hundred 
and fixty fruits each, one with another, as big as a 
half peck. 
There are feveral varieties of this fruit, which differ 
in their form and fize ; but as thefe are annually va- 
rying from feeds, fo I have omitted the mentioning 
them, for they feldom continue to produce the fame 
kinds of fruit three years together. 
The 
